Login Simplification Project

Project Links

Solving MSU's #1 IT Complaint

MSU on all four campuses is working to solve the university’s number 1 Information Technology complaint—too many logins and passwords! Because of the many systems in use across the institution, with different user access requirements, reducing the number of logins and passwords is a complex problem. It is the first and most visible step to implement larger-scale identity and access management, an administrative process that will span all departments.

Primary Requirements

The Login Simplification project will address the three primary requirements:

Give students, faculty, and staff a single login/password that will work with most or all MSU systems they use

Preserve a recognizable name for email addresses, directory listings, and common human interactions that is not a random string of characters

Assure operational efficiency to control the potentially high cost of identity management

The Login/Password Combination

The login/password combination that meets all of these requirements will be a short alphanumeric ID - the NetID that many already use and know. When used regularly, seven digits are as easy to remember as a phone number. Using the NetID eliminates the ongoing administrative cost of managing name-based logins, reducing the university’s overhead costs. Common names will still be used for all email, directory, and human interactions—where names are really needed.

Adopting the Simplified Login will make logging in much simpler! You can look forward to simplifying your login life in the near future as we work behind the scenes to adapt the many different systems to its common use.